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Keynotes Podcast: Our Work with The Mountain Ute Tribe
Last month we launched our podcast, Keynotes: Stories of Collective Impact, to share the stories of people coming together to develop long-lasting solutions to difficult policy obstacles. To kick off the podcast, we published a four-episode series about our work with the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe responding to COVID-19. Listen to that series below, where we discuss food access and developing a regional food collaborative, expanding access to mental health services, expanding access to broadband connectivity, and tribal sovereignty.
As COVID-19 infections began to rise in Colorado in the spring of 2020, the leadership of the Ute Mountain and Southern Ute Tribes instituted safety measures to protect its members—measures like curfews and limiting travel on and off the reservation. Those measures were effective at limiting the exposure of tribal members to the coronavirus, but it also made getting food even more difficult than it already was in this food desert region of the country. In the first episode of a four-part series examining the COVID-19 response effort in Southwest Colorado, the Keystone Policy Center highlights how the Ute Mountain and Southern Ute Tribes created a food distribution system to meet the immediate food needs of its members during the COVID-19 pandemic – and the work that is being done to create a regional food distribution hub.
Mental health concerns for Americans have significantly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Elevated levels of adverse mental health conditions, substance use, and suicidal ideation were reported by adults in the United States in June 2020. The prevalence of symptoms of anxiety disorder was approximately three times those reported in the second quarter of 2019, and prevalence of depressive disorder was approximately four times that reported in the second quarter of 2019. In the second episode of a four-part series examining the COVID-19 response effort in Southwest Colorado, the Keystone Policy Center examines expanding access to mental health services in tribal and other rural communities.
The Colorado Broadband Office designates a significant portion of the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation as an unserved area for internet service, which is defined as those areas that have download speeds of 5 megabits per second or fewer, or areas with no reported existing service at all. In a year that nearly every activity possible was moved online, the lack of access to broadband internet exacerbated inequities for tribal communities. In the third episode of our four-part series examining the COVID-19 response for tribes, learn about what tribal leaders in Southwest Colorado are doing to expand broadband access for their members.
Like the other topics so far in this series, we examine an issue that has been intensified by the COIVD-19 pandemic: that being the collaboration, or sometimes lack thereof, among the sovereign governments at the tribal, state, and federal levels. Specifically, we why it is so crucial that governments work together, respecting each other’s rights and jurisdiction, to serve their members and constituents. In this final episode of our four-part series on Keystone’s COVID-19 response effort with tribes, we discuss how the pandemic has either exposed the underlying flaws or amplified the strengths in government-to-government relationships and explain how leaders can work together to strengthen those relationships to make real impact.
Click here to listen to other episodes of the Keynotes Podcast.
Effective March 1, 2025, Thomas J. Vilsack, former United States Secretary of Agriculture and Governor of Iowa, became the first Chief Executive Officer for the World Food Prize Foundation. In this new role, Governor Vilsack is focusing on expanding the Foundation’s global network, and will further position the Foundation as a leader in addressing global food and nutrition insecurity, continuing his lifetime of public service.
Shelby Coffey III is a distinguished journalist, media executive, and thought leader whose career has helped shape the landscape of American news and public discourse. Over several decades, Coffey has held some of the most influential roles in journalism, including serving as editor of the Los Angeles Times, executive vice president of ABC News, and deputy managing editor of The Washington Post. His editorial leadership extended to key roles as president of CNN Financial News, editor of the Dallas Times Herald, and U.S. News & World Report.
Jerry Steiner has spent 40 years involved in agriculture following growing up on a Wisconsin dairy farm. He began his career with Monsanto, in multiple business leadership roles. From 2003-2013 he served as a member of the Executive team, as the company’s Executive Vice President of Sustainability and Corporate Affairs. He led the company’s global Government, Public and Industry Affairs teams across the 70 countries where Monsanto conducts business. This experience got Jerry connected to the Keystones centers work in agriculture. Key among his responsibilities were shaping the company’s public policy and building partnerships aimed at helping farmers around the world produce more food, while conserving valuable resources like water and energy. Two unique partnership that developed under his leadership were drought tolerant corn with 5 African countries, CIMMYT and the Gates foundation, and a building a sustainable business model in Brazil with the value chain leading to significant multi-company investment and soybean varieties that can protected themselves.
Jennifer Morris is the Chief Executive Officer of The Nature Conservancy, leading a team of nearly 6,000 staff working in more than 80 countries and territories tackling the dual crises of the 
Congressman Joe Neguse represents Colorado’s 2nd District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was elected to his first term in November 2018, becoming the first Black Member of Congress in Colorado history. In December 2022, Rep. Neguse was elected by his colleagues to serve as Chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC), becoming the first Coloradan to serve in a senior elected leadership role in the House in over 85 years. He serves on the Natural Resources and Judiciary Committees, and was also appointed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to serve as one of four Democrats on the prestigious Rules Committee. Rep. Neguse serves as Ranking Member on the House Subcommittee on Federal Lands, which he previously Chaired in the 117th Congress.
Llewellyn King was born in Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. He went into journalism as soon as he turned 16, stringing for Time magazine and United Press in Africa.
Steven Williams is the Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo North America, overseeing a more than $48 billion business that spans PepsiCo’s Foods and Beverage operating units. His leadership encompasses more than 125,000 associates and over 900 locations across the U.S. and Canada. Steven joined PepsiCo in 2001 as part of PepsiCo’s acquisition of the Quaker Oats Company, which he joined in 1997, and has held leadership positions of increased responsibility since.